ATHENS, Feb. 9 -- Greece decided Thursday to reject propoposed customs union between the European Union and Turkey but wants talks to continue, government spokesman Evangelos Venizelos said. The decision came at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou three days after foreign ministers of the European Union met in Brussels to discuss a trade pact between Turkey and the 15- nation bloc.
'We reviewed the issue and the position of the Greek government is negative,' Venizelos told reporters after the Cabinet meeting. Earlier, Greece's European Affairs Minister Alexander Mangakis had urged the Papandreou government to accept the EU plan, which would also pave the way for talks to allow Cyprus to join the union. Venizelos said the government had decided to reject the proposal because it was not getting what it asked for. The Greek government believed there was room for change in the EU plan, and that negotiations should continue in order to improve or modify certain positions that do not benefit the Greek side, he said. He said the plan did not set a definite date for the start of negotiations on Cyprus's entry into the European Union. Athens has also decided to veto proposals for the EU to provide $1.1 billion in financial assistance to Turkey, and to call for 'better pre- accession relations' between the union and Cyprus, Venizelos said. On Monday, German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel said there had been a diplomatic breakthrough and 'there is a good chance we can agree to a customs union with Turkey on March 6.' He said Greece had indicated at Brussels that it would not bloc Turkey's entry into the union.
